The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals

Written and illustrated by Sami Bayly

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Sami Bayly who describes herself on her website as ‘author and illustrator of all things weird and wonderful’, combines a deep knowledge and love of animals with a remarkable ability to write about them in a friendly colloquial style that instantly appeals to her young readers. Plus she is an ace illustrator, using intense colour, fine line and careful design to create stunning pictures of fascinating creatures. She is the creator of many works including The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Extinct Animals, and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature and illustrated enclyclopaedias of ugly animals, (one of my favourites) and dangerous animals. There is no end of topics that will fascinate children. Here we look at fast and slow animals.

Sami has used the same popular format, a stunning illustration on one side with all the fascinating facts on the other. She gives a description, a speed factor, conservation status, location, diet and some fun facts particular to each animal. As is now expected she always includes an illustration that indicates size relative to the human body, something I wish more people would do.The subjects alternate from fast to slow each successive page.

Her research ranges far and wide. Have you heard of the Pacific Banana Slug? It is super slow and looks like a limp banana draped over a log. What about the Arctic Woolly Bear Caterpillar? Fast or slow? We all know that the ostrich is ‘extremely fast’, it is the speediest bird when it comes to sprinting reaching 70 kph. This is a gorgeous book to browse in, enjoying the magnificent illustrations, learning lots of new facts and expanding  one’s knowledge of the wonderful world we all inhabit.

I hope Sami continues to find interesting new pairings of animals – this one is another winner to add to her list.

Lothian Children’s Books 2025

Sami Bayly